People are running out of explanations for why the Chicago Bears continue to maintain their original plan of starting Mike Glennon. This despite clear evidence that rookie Mitch Trubisky is progressing faster than expected. To say nothing of the fact he brings so much more in terms of overall physical potential to the table with his mobility and accuracy.
So again. Why? Is game experience really the only reason this team refuses to green light the Trubisky era over Glennon? Well yes, in a way. See there may be a bit of strategic thinking in play here regarding, of all things, the Bears schedule. No this doesn’t have to do with the overall difficulty of the first four games. That’s already been covered and speculated over.
No it’s a bit more specific than that.
Glennon has familiarity with key opponents of early Bears schedule
One thing that has gone overlooked to this point is the opponents Chicago will face. All fans have been told is it’s a murderous first eight games that will face a host of top quarterbacks. What they failed to mention is a key aspect that might help explain why Glennon was signed in the first place.
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Remember the Bears knew who their schedule opponents were well in advance of free agency or the draft. So that knowledge may have actually worked in their favor. How? Adam Hoge of WGN helped explain.
Also, Glennon knows the Falcons and Bucs much better than Trubisky does. He’s played against Atlanta four times in his career and actually put up really good numbers (73 of 102, 6 TD, 0 INT, 112.4 rating). Of course, the Falcons are a much different team now than the one Glennon last started against in 2013, but he prepared for Atlanta twice as recently as last season. He also knows the Bucs — his former employer — better than anyone in the Bears’ organization.
“I’ve gone against (the Falcons) eight times in my career,” Glennon said. “It’s been a different defensive coordinator for the past two years, and I wasn’t necessarily playing, but I studied them … I came in with some knowledge of them, better than I would opponents in the NFC North because I’ve game-planned them and studied them multiple times over the past couple years.”
Inside knowledge and history work in his favor
Glennon comes from the NFC South division where he’s stayed for the past four years. Coincidentally, the Bears play all four of those teams in the first half of the season. They play Atlanta in the opener and Tampa Bay in week two. Then they’ll play Carolina and New Orleans in two-straight weeks from October 22nd to the 29th.
People like to say Glennon only won five games as a starter. Interesting side note to all this. Two of those five victories came against teams the Bears play in the first half (Atlanta and Pittsburgh). So that’s four teams he’ll play from a division he knows inside and out and another team he’s beaten once before in the Steelers.
Sure this doesn’t guarantee anything. It’s the NFL after all. Nonetheless this would go a long way towards explaining the thought process behind signing Glennon and making sure he remains the starter. At least for the first half of the year. Perhaps he really does give them a better chance to win.
